Georgian cuisine opens a new chapter amid the echoes of the old Bulevard Rosa.

A door to Georgia in the middle of Passeig de Gràcia, with Barcelona as its starting point. This is the combination proposed by Tbilisi Boulevard: bringing a still little-known culture and cuisine to the city without losing sight of the place it has chosen to call home. Its 1,600 square metres span two floors of one of the premises that once formed part of the historic Bulevard Rosa, the great showcase of shops and window displays that, for decades, was one of the landmarks of this stretch of the boulevard until its closure in 2018.

However, that past has not completely disappeared. The first clues to its commercial history can be found from the street: a red carpet leads to the entrance and, on the façade, the letters TB accompany the name Tbilisi Boulevard. Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, provides the origin; Boulevard, meanwhile, reconnects the restaurant with the history of the place. Sergio Rodríguez, director of the new restaurant, explains that the project, backed by three Georgian businessmen who have been based in Barcelona for decades and work in different sectors — one of them with experience in the restaurant industry in his home country — was initially going to have a different name. In the end, however, they decided to keep Boulevard as a nod to the space's past.

Once through the door, references to that history continue. The grandeur of the interior is striking at first glance, while Georgia begins to make its presence felt among the tables, wine bottles and a menu filled with traditional recipes. Yet all it takes is a glance upwards to discover the past: the large glass dome and the iconic staircase are still there, now integrated into a space that blends its new Georgian identity with the memory of the place.

Although the space refers to Barcelona and the history of this place, the palate looks to Georgia. "It's not just about food, but about bringing a whole culture closer," explains Rodríguez, who is in charge of launching the restaurant and has more than 25 years of experience in managing similar gastronomic projects. His purpose is to bring to the public a cuisine that, despite having gained presence in Barcelona in recent years —the city has added eight Georgian restaurants in a short time, such as Kinza, Kaia or Supra Barcelona—, is still little known to many Barcelonians.

“It is a gastronomy with a legacy that has been maintained for more than 1,500 years and with recipes that are passed down from parents to children. And that tradition is seen in every dish, it is seen in every flavor,” explains Rodríguez. A tradition that also extends to wine, one of the protagonists of the proposal and present from the entrance, where there is a large wine cellar. “In the end, we are talking about Georgians being the precursors of wine, they have a winemaking tradition of more than 8,000 years and it is very ingrained in their DNA,” he adds. 

But in addition to a kitchen that will operate continuously from 12:00 to 00:00 hours, the restaurant also has different areas: El Salón, with capacity for 200 diners, concentrates the main life of the restaurant; La Bodega focuses on Georgian wine tradition; the Privados offer three more reserved spaces for celebrations and meetings; and La Coctelería takes over when night falls. From 8:00 p.m., in addition, the palate shares prominence with culture: live music and Georgian regional dances occupy the space with performances inspired by the country's different traditions.

The other lives of Bulevard Rosa

But before becoming a gateway to Georgia, this space had already been the scene of other stories much more linked to Barcelona. Its origin dates back to the 1930s, when in 1932 the Salón Rosa opened on Passeig de Gràcia, a meeting place associated with the social life of the city at the time. Its name would end up surviving even after its disappearance and would give way, decades later, to what would be one of the great commercial icons of the avenue: the Bulevard Rosa. 

In 1978, the businessman Enric Vives Valls promoted the opening of these commercial galleries —along with the rooms of the Publi Cinema—, which transformed this stretch of Passeig de Gràcia into a network of small establishments connected within the same space and communicated with some of the main arteries of the surroundings, such as Passeig de Gràcia itself, Rambla de Catalunya and Valencia and Aragón streets. Fashion, accessories, jewelry and other businesses coexisted in some 5,200 square meters that came to house nearly a hundred stores.

For four decades, the Bulevard Rosa was part of the commercial life of Passeig de Gràcia. But the avenue's own success ended up playing against it. The arrival of large international brands transformed the commercial model of the area: large street-level premises, with wide shop windows and greater visibility, gained ground against small boutiques integrated into galleries.

The Bulevard Rosa definitively closed on July 31, 2018, after forty years of activity. The property continued —and still does— in the hands of the Vives family, who in subsequent years studied different options to recover the space. Among them was the possibility of the arrival of the Decathlon sports group or even the union with the neighboring premises Bulevard dels Antiquaris, a space that still maintains part of that essence, but none of the projects ended up materializing.

Making its way in Passeig de Gràcia

Finally, the Vives family opted to renovate the space and seek new uses. In 2024, a part of the old Bulevard Rosa reopened as White Rabbit, an immersive museum dedicated to Barcelona and Catalan culture, with a predominantly tourist audience. Around it, other local businesses have been recovering activity with new brands, such as Dr. Martens or Brandy Melville.

Number 53 of Passeig de Gràcia has also been changing its life. Before becoming Tbilisi Boulevard, the space had already hosted Boulevard, a project by the Costa Este group that combined restaurant, lounge, interior garden, live music, and night programming. 

Finding a gastronomic establishment of these dimensions in the heart of Passeig de Gràcia. The avenue has established itself as one of the most sought-after commercial areas in the city, and available spaces are increasingly scarce. In fact, data from Cushman & Wakefield shows that availability in Barcelona's main prime areas (such as this promenade) fell to 0% in 2025, compared to 2% the previous year, while rents on Passeig de Gràcia grew by 6%. 

In a street where a good part of the shop windows are in the hands of large international brands, restoration has little room to make a niche for itself: the classics El Nacional, La Pomarada or the newcomer Circolo Popolare, where Citrus used to be, are some of the exceptions, in addition to fast food chains.

Precisely, all that past of the space was one of the factors that weighed on the promoters of Tbilisi Boulevard when choosing it. "When we were looking for a place, we wanted it to have some meaning, some sense," explains Rodríguez. "For us, the representative character of this space was very important." A history that coexists with Georgian cuisine: with dishes such as khinkali, dumplings filled with meat and broth; khachapuri, traditional bread with cheese; or chkmeruli, chicken in garlic sauce. 

A menu with which they have already filled reservations for all weekends until the end of November. Among the first customers there is a prominent presence of the Georgian community —which concentrates more than 20,000 people throughout Catalonia— although also from other communities in the region, such as Russians or Ukrainians, although it also seeks to make a niche for itself among the local public. 

Beyond gastronomy, there is another word that defines the proposal: hospitality. In Georgia, says Rodríguez, food is a way of celebrating life and receiving someone at home is also a celebration: opening the door, seating them at the table and making them feel welcome. On Passeig de Gràcia, Tbilisi Boulevard now converts that way of welcoming into a new way of bringing Georgia closer to Barcelona.